Garment



March 28, 1939. B. RABBINER GARMENT Filed April 29, 1958 ATTORNEYSPatented Mar. 28, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GARMENT ApplicationApril 29, 1938, Serial No. 204,985

3 Claims.

This invention relates to garments, and more particularly toimprovements in knitted cuffs applied to garments such as ski-pants. l

Ski-pants are provided ordinarily with a knitted cuff which is attachedto the bottom of each leg and adapted to fit snugly about the ankle.Style is an important factor in such garments, and the accepted stylerequires that the pants fold over in a bloomer effect uniformly aroundthe cuff. Since the cuffs are tight, it is difficult to insert andremove the foot unless an opening is provided, and numerous attemptshave been made heretofore to apply hookless fasteners or zippers to suchcuffs, so that they may be opened and closed readily to facilitate theinsertion of the foot through the cuffs. In applying lsuch hooklessfasteners, it has been customary to cut the knittedcuff and to apply thefastener thereto, extending it also beyond the cuff to an openingprovided in the fabric of the pants. Also, it has been customary to sewthe knitted cuff in a straight line to the bottom of the fabric formingthe leg of the pants. 'Ihis construction introduces stiffness in thefastening device, and causes the leg of the pants to fold in an awkwardmanner, it being impossible to achieve in this Away the desired bloomereffect, and consequently the satisfactory styling of the pants. Effortsto avoid this disadvantage in applying fasteners to the cuffs have notbeen successful heretofore.

There is a further difficulty inherent in the construction heretoforeemployed, in that the operations required to attach the fastener to boththe cuff and the fabric of the pants requires a number cf complicatedsewing operations. Thus, instead of sewing directly around the seamwhich joins the knitted fabric to the fabric of the pants, it has beennecessary to stop the sewing at the fastener, apply the tape of thefastener to the fabric of the pants by a different type of opera.- tion,and then complete the sewing with a third operation, in order that thefastener. may be secured to the fabric. Considerable difficulty is eX-perienced in producing a satisfactory garment, and the cost isexcessive.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a method ofapplying fasteners to knitted cuffs and to secure' the culfs with thefastener to the pants in such a way as to ensure proper and satisfactorydraping, that is, the provision of the desired bloomer effect.

Another object of the invention is to facilitate the application of thecuff with the fastener to the pants by a simpler operation which is lessteners so applied as to provide the desired -bloom- Yer draping of thefabric.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as it isbetter understood by reference to the following specification and theaccompanying drawing, in which '1:9

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of the lower end of the pants leg with thecuff and closure applied, illustrating the proper and desired draping ofthe fabric to afford a satisfactory bloomer effect; `l:5

Fig. 2 is a similar view with the leg and cuff extended to illustratethe mode of applying the cuff' and the fastener;'

Fig. 3 is a plan section showing the interior of the pants leg with thecuff applied thereto;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the pants leg extended with the cuff andfastener applied;

Fig. 5 is an elevation illustrating the method of cutting the cuffbefore it is applied to the pants leg;

Fig. 6 is a similar view illustrating the shaping of the Apants leg towhich the cuff is applied; and

Fig. 'l is an elevation of the familiar hookless fastener or zipper.

In carrying out the invention, I have discovered that the proper drapingof the fabric depends upon the initial shaping of the abutting edges ofthe pants leg and cuff and the elimination of any opening in the fabricof the pants leg to which a fastener must be applied. In other words, Ihave achieved the desired draping effect by removing from the upper edgeof the cuff surplus material which has heretofore interfered with theproper draping, and by cutting the lower edge of the pants leg soas'toproperly flt the cuff with the surplus' material removed. I use,furthermore, a shorter closure which is applied only to the openedges ofthe cuff and does not extend into any opening in the fabric of the pantsleg. With this novel construction, the proper draping is facilitated,and the elimination of the fastener as a stiffening element of the pantsleg ensures the draping as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing instead of thedistorted effect which characterizes the attempts made heretofore toapply fasteners to knitted cuffs used in connection ywith garments suchas I have described. While the construction is simple, it involves amarked change and improvement over the constructions which have beenavailable heretofore,

and provides a garment with satisfactory styling.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawing, which shows the draping of the pantsleg, 5 indicates the material of the pants leg and 6 the knitted cuffwhich is secured by stitching to the pants leg along a dotted line 1.The fastener 8 is applied in the usual manner to the edges of theknitted cuff 6, which is cut to permit the insertion of the fastener.This operation is prior to attachment to the pants leg. A slide 9 isadapted to close or open the fastener as may be desired.

In forming the garment, the lower edges of the pants leg 5 are cut inarcs indicated at I0 with flattened edges H which are adapted toco-operate with similar edges I2 of the knitted cuff 6. The dotted lineI3 indicates the upper edge of the cuff as it comes from the knittingmachine, and heretofore has beenv used as approximately the line ofsewing in attaching the cuif to the leg of the garment. In accordancewith the present invention, the material between the line I3 and theline I2 is eliminated, so that when the cuff and pants leg are sewedtogether the stitching follows approximately the line I4, surplus fabricbeing cut away during the sewing operation by a knife provided for thatpurpose on the sewing machine (not shown). It will Vbe understood ofcourse, that the cuff is circular in form and that there are, therefore,two edges corresponding to the line I2 opposite each other to co-operatewith similar edges at the bottom of the pants leg. Y

"Ihis is more clearly illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, in which the leg 5and cuff 6 are shown attached, the lines I 4 of sewing extendingupwardly to points I5 at the sides of the leg. The fastener B with itsslide 9 is attached to a tape I6 which is sewed to the edges of the cuff6. The tape extends upwardly only to the point I5 and consequently thefastener is engaged with the material of the pants leg only at the pointwhere the knitted cui is likewise engaged. The fastener consequentlydoes not intend to stiffen the fabric of the pants leg as'has been usualin constructions heretofore used. The present construction facilitatesthe joining of the cuff to the pants leg because the sewing machine canwork completely around the abutting edges of the knitted fabric and thepants leg without encountering metal which would, of course, break theneedles.

Furthermore, the difficult operations required to extend the fastenerbetween edges of the material forming the pants leg are entirely avoidedinthe application of the cuff according to the present invention. Aspecial advantage of the construction described is that the upper edgeof the knitted cuff stretches readily to the full width .of the pantsleg. This avoids extreme gathering Zand permits the desired drape effectwhich disdesired elasticity and other advantages of knitted cuffs forthe purpose. No special machines or arrangements are required to producecuffs adapted to be employed in accordance with the present invention.They are knitted in the ordinary manner, and thereafter the surplusmaterial is cut away as indicated clearly in Fig. 5, and as hereinbeforedescribed, in Order to provide the arc-shaped edges which facilitateattachment to the pants leg and afford the desired draping effect andthe elimination of awkward or ugly folds which destroy the desiredstyling of the nished product.

Moreover, as hereinbefore indicated, the structure as describedfacilitates the manufacturing operations, eliminating unnecessary andcomplicated stitching operations and affording withal a strongerconstruction which is less likely to rip or tear. Because of theelimination of stiffness due to insertion of the fastener in therelatively heavier fabric of the pants, the operation of the fastenerismade more easy, and the user finds the garment more comfortable thansimilar garments constructed in the manner heretofore followed. Theprovision of the fastener permits opening of the cuff so that the wearercan put on or remove the garment without removing the shoes.

Various changes may be made in the form and arrangement of the parts anddetails of construction thereof, without departing from the invention orsacrificing any of its advantages.

I claim:

1. A garment having legs each provided with a cuff at its bottom ofnarrower width than the leg, the lower edge of each leg proper having atleast one recess extending upwardly from its lower edge, each cuffhaving an extension projecting upwardly into the recess of the leg towhich it is attached and having an opening;

extending upwardly from its lower edge into but not beyond its saidextension, and fasteners affording closures for the opening in thecuffs.

2. A garment having legs each provided with an elastic cuff at itsbottom of narrower width than the leg, the lower edge of each leg properhaving at least one recess extending upwardly from its lower edge, eachcuff having an extension projecting upwardly into the recessof the legto which it is attached and having an opening extending upwardly fromits lower edge into but not beyond its said extension, and fastenersaffording closures for the opening in the cuffs.

3. A garment having legs each provided with a cuff of knitted fabric atits bottom` of narrower to a point adjacent the uppermost part of anextension thereof, and fasteners affording closures for the openings inthe cuffs.

BERTRAND RABBINER.

